Obstetrician & Gynaecologist in Australia

What are the Risks of Shingles during Pregnancy

What are the risks of shingles during pregnancy? If you are pregnant, you probably have many concerns. You have to take extra care in order to prevent an infection or other illness. IT is extremely important that you are healthy in this period. There are infections that can be transmitted from mother to fetus.

Some infections can be passed to the baby during labor. So you should be well informed about different types of infections and take up some measures to prevent them. Shingles (herpes zoster) is caused by visors (also called herpes zoster virus). If a pregnant woman gets infected anytime during her pregnancy, it could harm fetus.

In some cases, fetus defects may develop. But when it comes to shingles developing during pregnancy, many experts have agreed that the risk of baby defects or any other harm – is very low. It is possible to get shingles during pregnancy. Still, this doesn’t happen very often. If it does happen, the treatment for shingles during pregnancy is the same as treatment for women who are not pregnant.

Shingles treatment is carried out with antiviral medications. These are quite safe to use during pregnancy, so there is no reason to be worried. Although these medications haven’t been tested on pregnant women, they have been tested on pregnant animals and it seems that they are very safe and leave no harmful consequences. Since shingles can be very painful condition, treatment may also include some medicines for pain relieving. But if you are pregnant, keep in mind that some pain medicines should not be used during pregnancy, so never take any of them without previous talk to your physician. If you are having any doubts, fears or questions, call your doctor and find out everything you need to know. That is the right thing to do in order to be safe and protect yourself and the baby.